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28 August 2013

WikiCup update, and the gardens of Finland

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WikiCup update

The 2013 WikiCup competition is entering its final round. The finalists and information about them are copied here from the longer WikiCup 2013 August newsletter by competition judges J Milburn and The ed17, with assistance from Rschen7754. You can sign up for the newsletter by adding your username to Wikipedia:WikiCup/Newsletter/Send.

Hawkeye7 (submissions), a WikiCup newcomer who has contributed on topics of military history and physics, including a number of high-importance topics. Good articles have made up the bulk of his points, but he has also scored a great deal of bonus points. He has the second highest score overall so far, with more than 3000 points accumulated.
Casliber (submissions), another WikiCup veteran who reached the finals in 2012, 2011 and 2010. He writes on a variety of topics including botany, mycology and astronomy, and has claimed the highest or joint highest number of featured articles every round so far this year. He has the third highest score overall, with just under 3000 points accumulated.
Cwmhiraeth (submissions), 2012 WikiCup champion, who writes mostly on marine biology. She has also contributed to high-importance topics, seeing huge numbers of bonus points for high-importance featured and good articles. Previous rounds have seen her scoring the most bonus points, with scoring spread across did you knows, good articles and featured articles.
Sasata (submissions), a WikiCup veteran who finished in second place in 2012, and competed as early as 2009. He writes articles on biology, especially mycology, and has scored highly for a number of collaborations at featured article candidates.
Sturmvogel_66 (submissions), the winner of the 2010 competition. His contributions mostly concern Naval history, and he has scored a very large number of points for good articles and good article reviews in every round. He is the highest scorer overall this year, with over 3500 points in total.
Ealdgyth (submissions), who is competing in the WikiCup for the second time, though this will be her first time in the final. A regular at FAC, she is mostly interested in British medieval history, and has scored very highly for some top-importance featured articles on the topic.
Miyagawa (submissions), a finalist in 2012 and 2011. He writes on a broad variety of topics, with many of this year's points coming from good articles about Star Trek. Good articles make up the bulk of his points, and he had the most good articles back in round 2; he was also the highest scorer for DYK in rounds 1 and 2.
Adam Cuerden (submissions) has previously been involved with the WikiCup, but hasn't participated for a number of years. He scores mostly from restoration work leading to featured picture credits, but has also done some article writing and reviewing.

Featured articles

American presidential candidates in 2012 included Congressman Thaddeus McCotterofMichigan, seen here campaigning at the Iowa State Fair.

English musician Ringo Starr was the drummer for the Beatles.

A group of all integers, with odd integers on the red line and even integers on the blue line. The parity of zero is even.

South African author Nadine Gordimer, winner of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote Burger's Daughter.

Eleven featured articles were promoted this week.

Parity of zero nominated by Melchoir. The number zero is an even number. Researchers in mathematics education propose using discussions about the parity of zero to educate students about a variety of concepts in mathematics.
Mike Capel nominated by Albacore. Capel (born 1961) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played 49 Major League games for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Houston Astros.
HMS Warrior (1860) nominated by Sturmvogel 66. Warrior was an armoured frigate and the named ship of her class. Warrior and her sister ship were the first armour-plated, iron-hulled warships. She became obsolescent in 1871. She was donated to the Maritime Trust in 1979 and received a restoration. She is now a part of the United Kingdom's National Historic Fleet, Core Collection.
Pacific Swift nominated by Jimfbleak. The Pacific Swift (Apus pacificus) is a migratory bird which breeds in eastern Asia. It has a wide range and feeds on insects that it catches in flight.
Thaddeus McCotter presidential campaign, 2012 nominated by William S. Saturn. Congressman McCotter (born 1965) ran for the Republican Party's 2012 nomination for President of the United States. McCotter's lack of name recognition was a major difficulty in his campaign. When he ended his campaign in September 2011 he endorsed Mitt Romney.
Interstate 75 in Michigan nominated by Imzadi1979. Interstate 75 (I-75) runs from Florida in the south to Michigan in the north. In recent times the project to better connect the Ambassador Bridge to I-75 and I-96 has been the subject of legal disputes.
Tasha Yar nominated by Miyagawa. Lieutenant Yar was the chief of security for USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) in early episodes of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The actress who played Yar was Denise Crosby. Yar has been cited as a forerunner to other strong female characters in science fiction.
Ringo Starr nominated by GabeMc. Starr (born 1940) is an English performing artist who became famous as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr has been praised by other musicians for his contributions to music composition, and has received numerous honours.
Jo Stafford nominated by Paul MacDermott. Stafford (1917 – 2008) was an American pop music vocalist and actress. She trained in opera before her career in popular music. By 1955 her career worldwide record sales surpassed those of any other female artist. She has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Hungarian occupation of Yugoslav territories nominated by Peacemaker67. The military occupation and annexation of regions of Yugoslavia by Hungary occurred during World War II. Thousands of people were killed during the occupation.
Burger's Daughter nominated by Bruce1ee. Burger's Daughter is a historical and political novel by Nadine Gordimer. It was first published in 1979. The novel is set in the mid-1970s in South Africa. It received mostly positive reviews and a Central News Agency Literary Award.

Featured pictures

A panorama of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand.

The SkaterbyGilbert Stuart

Nine featured pictures were promoted this week.

Auckland Panorama (nom) created by Chmehl and nominated by Nikhilb239. Auckland (Māori: Tāmaki Makaurau) is the largest city in New Zealand. Its June 2012 population is approximately 1.3 million people. Economist ranked Aukland 9th in its 2011 list of the World's most livable cities.
Edible Frog (nom) created by Commons user Grand-Duc and edited by Commons user Niabot and nominated by Tomer T. The Edible Frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus) is used for food, especially in France for frog legs. Adults are 5 to 11 centimeters (2.0 to 4.3 in) in length.
Maddison Elliot (nom) created by John Sherwell and the Australian Paralympic Committee/Australian Sports Commission and nominated by Crisco 1492. Maddison Elliott (born 1998) has right side cerebral palsy and is classified as an S8 swimmer. She became Australia's youngest Paralypic medallist at the 2012 Summer Paralympics where she won one gold and two bronze medals. She was named a 2012 Australian Paralympic Junior Athlete of the Year.
Jalovec (nom) created by Chmehl and nominated by Tomer T. Jalovec is the sixth-highest mountain in Slovenia. This photo was the Wikimedia Commons Picture of the Day on 26 March 2009.
The Skater (nom) created by Gilbert Stuart and nominated by Keraunoscopia. This 1782 painting by American artist Gilbert Stuart (1755 – 1828) is an oil on canvas portrait of a young Scotsman named William Grant. On the day that the portrait was to be painted, Grant remarked on the coldness of the weather and said that "on account of the excessive coldness of the weather ... the day was better suited for skating than sitting for one's portrait". Grant and Stuart went to Hyde Park where the two men skated. After returning to the studio, Stuart painted Grant's head but completed the rest of the composition based on his memory of their time skating. The painting was praised for its originality at the Royal Academy exhibition of 1782.
Palm House, Botanical Garden of Helsinki (nom) created by Alvesgaspar and nominated by Alvesgaspar. The University of Helsinki Botanical Garden is an institution of the Finnish Museum of Natural History of the University of Helsinki. The greenhouse holds more than 800 species of plants. Palm House was built in 1889. The greenhouses are currently used for exhibitions and research, and the grounds are open to the public.
Portrait of Sebastián de Morra (nom) created by Diego Velázquez and nominated by Crisco 1492. Sebastián de Morra was a dwarf and jester at the court of King Philip IV of Spain. Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599 – 1660) was a leading Spanish painter in Philip's court and a significant figure in the Spanish Golden Age. This painting, circa 1645, is now located at the Museo del Prado, Madrid.
Cigarette smuggling (nom) created by High Contrast and nominated by Tomer T. Cigarette smuggling is a common form of tax evasion throughout the world. Cigarettes are purchased in an area with low cigarette taxes and then sold in an area with higher taxes without paying the tax due.
Levi Morton (nom) most likely created by Mathew B. Brady though possibly Levin C. Handy, restored and nominated by Adam Cuerden. Levi Parsons Morton (1824 – 1920) served as United States Minister to France, where he was very popular. He later became the 22nd Vice President of the United States, and still later became the 31st Governor of New York.